Improvement in steam stop-valves



` zamen-sheen.

STEAM STOP-VALVE.

No.'184,2944, Patented Novym, 187s.l

THE GRAPHIC COMM 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2.

A. ORME. STEAM STOP-VALVE.

Patented N'ov.14,1876.V

THE GRAPHIC CDROM ner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER ORME, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM STOP-VALVES.

Speeication forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,294, dated November14,1876; application filed August 17, 1876.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER ORME, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Valves; and I .do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of a safety-valveembodying my said invention. Fig. 2 represents an elevation of the same,a portion of Ithe outer shell being broken away, showing a part of theoperating parts. Fig. 3 represents a sectional plan of the same taken onthe line a: Fig. 1. Fig. 4. represents a top view of the valve-seatdetached and Fig. 5 represents an elevation of the same.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention relates to that class of safetyvalves used uponsteam-boilers for the purpose of relieving the boiler of any excessivepressure of steam above that which it is designed to carry; and theobject of my invention is to improve the safety-valve for which Iobtained Letters Patent dated March 16,

My invention consists in the means em- '.ployed in holding the valveupon its seat against the pressure of steam in the boiler, and in themeans employed in holding the adjustable angular seat in a fixedposition when adjusted, and also in the arrangement of the partsemployed in locking the `outer case to the base, so as to prevent thevalve from being tampered with, all of which will be hereinafter morefully set forth.

In the drawing, A represents 4the base of the valve-case, which may beattached to the dome-plate ofthe boiler in any known man- B is the caseinclosing the operating parts, and which is provided at its lower end lwith an outward-projecting ilange, a, titted to rest upon a like flange,a', on the base A,

i as shown in Fig. 1, and is firmly held thereon by screw-bolts bpassing through the said flange a into the flange a', as shown in Figs.2 and 3. The base A is provided at its center with an annular opening,C, which communicates with the interior of the boiler through acorresponding opening in the domeplate. (Not shown.) D is annularbushing, which is tightly tted within the opening C, and extends upwardabove the base, and is screw-threaded at its upper end externally, asshown in Fig. 1.

E is an annular ring fitted upon the threaded portion of the bushing D,and so arranged as to admit of being turned around on the said bushing,the object of which is to allow the ring to be raised or lowered as maybe desired. The upper edge of this ring is chamfered on its inner side,forming an angular face, d, the latter extending downward to the end ofthe bushing.

F is the valve, which is provided on its lower surface with radial wingse adjusted to fit the bore of the bushing in the usual manner. Thediameter of the upper portion of this valve exceeds the diameter of thewings formingan annular horizontal face, f, adjusted to bear upon theupper end of the bushing, as shown in Fig. 1, and the valve is leveledon its outer side, forming an angular face, d', the plane of which isparallel with the plane of the angular face d on the ring. G Gr arevertical studs, which are permanently secured within the flange a. ofthe base, and extend upward to a point slightly above the center of thecase. H is a cross-head, mounted on the upper end of the studs, andsecured in a fixed position thereon by screwnuts g g arranged upon therespective studs above and below the cross-head. J is a primary spindle,which passes loosely through an opening formed centrally through thecross-head, and extends downward to a point immediately over the valve,as shown in Fig. 1, and is provided at its lower end with an annularflange, n, formed thereon. K is a spiral spring, which is looselyfitted' upon and around the primary spindle between iiangen and thecross-head. The primary spindle is made hollow, as shown in Fig. 1, thesaid hollow or cavity extending upward to a point near the center of thecross-head, and converging at its its" upper end to one common center,as shown atK. L is the valve-spindle, which is loosely fitted within,the. cavity inthe primary spindle, and is. made pointed atits ends, asshown at jj. The upper point of the spindle is fitted into theconverging point of the cavity in the primary spindle, and the lowerpoint is tted into a conical recess, m, formed centrally in the uppersurface of the valve, as shown in Figure l.

rEhe object of loosely Iitting the primary spindle within the opening inthe cross-head, and of fitting the valve-spindle within theprimaryspindle and recess in the valve, as described, is to admit of a slightradial movement oi' the valve-spindle and primary spindle independent ofany movement of the valve, and .thereby prevent any unequal pressure ofthe spring upon the valve, which would otherwise be produced byanyimproper adjustment of the cross-head.

M is a horizontal lever, which is fulcrumed to a ybracket on the innersurface of the case, near its upper end, and extends outward through amortise formed therein, and is so .arranged as to admit cfafree-and-easy tilting movement. This lever is fork-shaped at its innerend, and passes into a groove, z', formed around the primary spindlenear its upper end, the object of which is to provide a means of liftingthe primary spindle so as to relieve the valve from the pressure ofV thespring, and thereby allow the valve to li't from its seat when thepressure of steam in the boiler is below the pressure at which thespring is adjusted to carry.

The diameter of the upper end of the case is less than the diameter ofthe lower end, forming a neck, A', through which the steam escapes fromthe case.

N is an annular concaved plate, which is attached to a cross-bar, a',extending centrally across the opening in the neck, as shown in Fig. l.The varea of this plate exceeds the area of the opening in the neck, andit is located below the same, so as lto form an annular space, a,between the periphery and the converging surface of the case, throughwhich the steam escapes. The obj-ect of this plate is to provide a guardwhich `will prevent any substance from being dropped into the case thatwould in any way prevent a complete operation ot' the valve.

Looselymounted upon and around ring E is a supplemental ring, E',adjusted to turn thereon. 'The supplemental ring is made of a Strip ofsuitable metal, bent in an annular lform, and bolted together at itsends, as

shown in Fig. 3, forming an outward-projecting lug, t, arranged to bearagainst one ofthe studs Gr when the ring is turned to the proper point;or the .ring may be cast in an annular shape, with the lug t formedthereon, if desired. 'The ring E is provided at its base with anoutwardly-projecting ange, 11e/,with- -in which is formed a series ofnotches, h, as -shown in Fig. 4, which notches are each adjusted toalternately receive a depending lug, h', on the lower edge of thesupplemental ringE, by which means the ktwo rings are locked together,so that neither one of them can turn independent of the other, theobject of which is to lock the ring E in a fixed position, when properlyadjusted, by so adjusting the supplemental ring thereon as to bring thelug t against one of the studs.

D is an annular ring, loosely fitted upon and around the base of thecase B, and ar-l loosely through the notches c in the flange of thering, and are located on the case, at the proper distance from thebottom thereof to admit the ring between them and the ange a of thecase. The ring D is also provided at its lower edge with anoutwardly-projecting lug, p, corresponding with a likeoutwardlyprojecting lug, p, on the flange a of the case, which are eachprovided with an opening, lo", formed through themto receive the bolt ofan ordinary padlock, by which means the ring can be locked so as toprevent it from being removed or displaced. p

The arrangement of the ring D is such as to wholly surround and coverthe bolts uniting the case B to the base, and the notches in the flangeare so arranged relatively to the position of the lug lo that whenadjusting the ring upon the case, and in position to admit of passingthe lock-bolt through the openings p, the ring must be placed in properposition on the case to allow the lugs e e to pass through thenotches'iu the flange. The ring is then dropped down so as to rest uponthe flange a, when it is turned partly around to bring the openin gs pin the same plane, thereby causing the flange on the ring to pass underthe lugs, thus preventing the ring from being so elevated as to giveaccess to the bolts connecting the case to the base without removing thelock-bolt, and thereby preventing the bolts from being unscrewed, so asto admit of removing or elevating the case, the object being to preventthe valve from being tampered with.

The spring K is compressed to produce a pressure on the valve persquareinch equal to the desired pressure of steam which the boiler is intendedto carry by lowering the cross-head H and'tightening the nuts g g, so

-as to hold the cross-head at the requisite adjusted point. The ring Eis so adjusted as to form a slight space between the angular face d andthe corresponding face d on the valve, and is locked in position by thesupplemental ring E', as previously described.

When the several parts are adjusted the operation of the valve is thesame as described in my previous Letters Patent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letvided with lugs e" e", ofthe ring D', ange a,

ters Patent, islugs p p', and lock-bolt openings p, substan- 1. Thecombination, with lghe valve F, of tially as and for the purposespecified.

the hollow primary spindle J, valve-spindle L, 4. The combination, withthe case B, of the spring K, and cross-head H, substantially as annularconcaved guardplate N, substanand for the purpose specified. tially asand for thev purpose specified.

2. The combination, with the ring E, base A, bushing D, and studs G G,of the supple- ALEXANDER ORME. mental ring E', substantially as and forthe Witnesses: purpose specified. Y l N. H. SHERBURNE, 3. Thecombination, with the case B, pro- WILLIAM JONES.

